Two new garden benches for the churchyard arrived yesterday.  They are replacing the pair that have been there for enough years that they have begun to fall apart.  In fact, one of the old ones is in pieces in the greenhouse behind Hal and Diane’s place, waiting to be fixed or discarded.
     The new benches were delivered to our house in the afternoon.  They were in flat boxes, “ready for assembly” and I had momentary visions of Christmas bicycles and other frustrating projects that seem to take more time than their projected usefulness.  But, thanks to my handy husband, they were ready to schlep over to the churchyard before dinner was on the table.
     They look terrific – very inviting!  It was pretty misty-mostly when they were ‘installed’ so we didn’t try them out.  But, I have no doubt that they will be in use soon – drizzle or no drizzle.  The old ones were used constantly – by cyclists taking a break, by early arrivals to a church function, or even by village residents having an impromptu chat.
     This is the third generation of churchyard benches.  The first were of teak and were donated by our (then) neighbor, John Hampson  They lasted a good number of years and were eventually replaced, a decade or so ago, by Carol Nordquist.  They, too, were wooden but with decorative wrought ornamentation.  These latest benches, provided by the Oysterville Restoration Foundation, are similar to the last pair. They already look very much at home in front of the flagpole.
     I’m glad they are in place before the Memorial Day weekend.  That’s the time of year that our Oysterville organizations hold their annual meetings and it’s when most of our residents are ‘in town.’  It’s the time that marks the beginning of the summer season here.  Soon the church will be busy with weddings and vespers and other festivities.  It’s just the right timing for the new benches to invite people to “come on an’ set a spell.”